In 1926, the Twenties were Roaring … Claude Hopkins’ masterwork on copywriting – Scientific Advertising – was the three-year-old bible for copywriters everywhere … and a raw young copy cub sat down to write an ad for The U.S. School of Music …

The 26-year-old copywriter’s name was John Caples and to this day, his headline for that ad, “They Laughed When I sat Down At the Piano But When I Started to Play!” is considered by most to be the Stairway to Heaven of the copywriting world.

After this ad ran, things happened quickly for John Caples. Within one year, he had been recruited by the advertising giant BBD&O, where he spent the next 56 years creating world-beating ads. In 1973 Caples was elected into the Copywriters Hall of Fame and four years later into the Advertising Hall of Fame.

How to Write Like John Caples

Now, when asked to write an ad selling home-study courses to would-be musicians, most young copywriters would begin with the obvious. They’d create a simple, straightforward benefit headline – like: Master the Piano at Home in 30 Days – Without a Teacher!

But Caples instinctively knew better. He understood that mastering a musical instrument is hard, time-consuming, frustrating work – and that nobody really wants to put themselves through that drudgery.

“So,” I can almost hear the young Caples asking himself, “Why DO millions still take piano lessons every year?”

And I can almost hear him answering himself: “Because mastering an instrument makes people more popular … wins them the admiration and envy of friends … and ultimately, brings them happiness.”

Mr. Caples recognized that his product was not a piano course – or even the ability to play. Those things were merely the means to an end. His real product was the admiration and respect of others. He was selling popularity and happiness!

In short, Mr. Caples recognized that people buy for emotional reasons – not practical ones … and that by appealing to his prospects’ most dominant resident emotions, he had a shot at driving response to his ad through the roof.

Now, even after coming to this amazing conclusion, Mr. Caples could have still chosen to write a straight benefit headline – like: “How to Be the Most Popular Guy at Any Party!”

But again, Mr. Caples understood that simply describing how popular musicians are wouldn’t have the same emotional resonance as a vividly visual, first-person “true story” about how a goofball – a buffoon nobody ever dreamed could play – left his friends amazed … breathless … spellbound … and applauding wildly.

Everyone reading the ad wanted to be that guy!

And so, Caples …

Takes fully HALF of his ad space to seduce his prospects with an intriguing, visual story of his personal triumph …

Presents his product as doing all the work for the prospect … without the laborious drudgery of practicing scales, in half the usual time – “Just read the list of instruments in the panel,” he says, “decide which one you want to play and the U.S. School will do the rest.” …

Removes a possible objection by dispelling the myth that you need a special talent to play …

Adds a credibility element by mentioning that the U.S. School of Music has taught 350,000 people to play their favorite instruments …

Trivializes the price (without mentioning it) by saying it’s only a few cents a day …

One thing, though – they won’t do you one damn bit of good until you study them! So if you haven’t read these bibles of direct response and copywriting – or if it’s been a while since you immersed yourself in Caples’ wisdom – I urge you to order them NOW!

Here are just a few of the gems you’ll discover in John Caples’ books …

Caples’ Three-Step Approach to Creativity

Capture the prospect’s attention. Nothing happens unless something in your ad, your mailing, or your commercial makes the prospect stop long enough to pay attention to what you say next.

Maintain the prospect’s interest. Keep the ad, mailing, or commercial focused on the prospect, on what he or she will get out of using your product or service.

Move the prospect to favorable action. Unless enough “prospects” are transformed into “customers”, your ad has failed, no matter how creative. That’s why you don’t stop with A/I/A (Attention, Interest/Action), but continue right on with testing.

Caples on Headlines

“If the headline doesn’t stop people, the copy might as well be written in Greek.

“If the headline of an advertisement is poor, the best copywriters in the world can’t write copy that will sell the goods.

“They haven’t a chance. Because, if the headline is poor, the copy will not be read. And copy that is not read does not sell goods.

“On the other hand, if the headline is a good one, it is a relatively simple matter to write the copy.”

Caples’ Three Classes of Successful Headlines

“Advertisers who work with keyed copy find the majority of their most successful headlines can be divided into three classes:

“1. Self-interest. The best headlines are those that appeal to the reader benefits. They offer readers something they want – and get from you. For example:

ANOTHER $50 RAISE

RETIRE AT 55

“2. News. The next-best headlines are those that give news. For example:

NEW FEATURES OF THE FORD TRUCK

DISCOVERED – A NEW KIND OF HAND CLEANER

“3. Curiosity. The third-best headlines are those that arouse curiosity. For example:

LOST: $35,000

ARE YOU PLAYING FAIR WITH YOUR WIFE?

Caples’ Five Rules for Writing Great Headlines:

“1. First and foremost, try to get self-interest into every headline you write. Make your headline suggest to the readers that here is something they want. This rule is so fundamental that it would seem obvious. Yet the rule is violated every day by scores of writers.

“2. If you have news, such as a new product, or a new use for an old product, be sure to get that news into your headline in a big way.

“3. Avoid headlines that merely provoke curiosity. Curiosity combined with news or self-interest is an excellent aid to the pulling power of your headline, but curiosity by itself is seldom enough.

“This fundamental rule is violated more often than any other. Every issue of every magazine and newspaper contains advertising headlines that attempt to sell the reader through curiosity alone.

“4. Avoid, when possible, headlines that paint the gloomy or negative side of the picture. Take the cheerful, positive angle.

“5. Try to suggest in your headline that here is a quick and easy way for the readers to get something they want.

“In using this last suggestion – as mentioned previously – be sure to make your headline believable. Here is the headline of an advertisement that was tested by a correspondence school:

TO MEN AND WOMEN WHO WANT TO WORK LESS
AND EARN MORE

“This seems to sum up in a few words what people have wanted ever since the world began. Yet the advertisement did not bring many replies, probably because the headline was unbelievable. It seemed too good to be true.

Caples on the Three Kinds of Copy to Avoid

“1. Poetic Copy: There is a type of copy so poetically worded that the chief impression the reader receives is, 'The person who wrote that piece is certainly a master word juggler.'

“2. Affected Copy: There is a type of copy that sounds as if it were written by a college sophomore in order to produce an intense effect on the reader. This copy depends on extravagant phrases rather than on real thought or feeling.

“Here is an example taken from a jeweler’s advertisement for star sapphires:

NOCTURNE

Soft Sapphire … It is like a cup of night blue, dazed with moonlight and soft shadows, and it bears a promise of the sky. For in its depths stir the six arcs of a veiled silver star … eager to fling their beauty to the night.

“3.Unbelievable Copy: Copy that strains the credulity of the intelligent reader is not as effective as it was years ago.

“Most of the advertisers who procured sales through exaggerated and unbelievable claims have been reduced to using 60-line space in a few of the cheaper publications, or they have gone out of business entirely.

Clayton–and I mean in this in all sincerity–the only person who has improved on Caples is you. I read Caples assiduously for years, but never got the importance of putting emotions first from him, even though, as you rightly point out, he practised it himself. You won’t go terribly wrong just using Caples mechanically, but you probably won’t have many breakthroughs.

Clayton–and I mean in this in all sincerity–the only person who has improved on Caples is you. I read Caples assiduously for years, but never got the importance of putting emotions first from him, even though, as you rightly point out, he practised it himself. You won’t go terribly wrong just using Caples mechanically, but you probably won’t have many breakthroughs.

This article should be required reading for ad agency execs. I’ve worked for many agencies that felt a headline had to be cute and clever rather than have sale appeal. They were more interested in winning creative awards than generating sales.

When I was a student at University of California Santa Cruz, the faculty went on strike over the Vietnam War. Actually they got paid but didn’t have to teach their classes. That gave me about six weeks, uninterrupted by nonsense, to read and study all of Claude, Victor, John Caples, Robert Collier, Ogilvy, Maxwell Sackheim, Haldeman-Julius, and other favorites. You are doing a real service by boiling down these books and teachings into pithy essays.

I keep all of Caples’ books handy. They are full of checklists that speed my writing. When I see the stupidity that passes for advertising today, I say to myself, “that person never read claude, maxwell, victor or john. What a waste.”

When I ran a business right out of college, ad agencies would sometimes approach me about doing space ads and dm. I would sometimes ask the ad man, “which of the classic books on mail order advertisng and direct mail do you use most often?” I should have kept an album of their responses.

Len (Post #9) – Absolutely. I haven’t read Wunderman, but will at some point. It’s the re-reading that’s tricky to get around to.

Some time ago, Clayton sent me his recommended reading list. Ask him if he wouldn’t mind posting it to this site somewhere, perhaps as a blog entry so readers can add suggestions. That would be a great thread to come back to.

Right on, Susan. (Post #8) Same here. In fact, I was VP of one. Cutesy, clever little headlines and broadcast intros & tags that didn’t have a thing to do with pulling or moving qualified buyers. I used to write a lot of that dreck myself. “High school creative.” But I have been reborn!

Hi Clayton,
I like to read all the books. Here in India, they’re not available. I’ll purchase little later, as I’m little short of money. But, I genuinely feel your interpretation of their works in view of the current situation is necessary.
Just like this article. Keep inspiring us with your great articles!
Solomon